CVE-2023-53022 [Medium] | Security Vulnerability in Linux Kernel

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: enetc: avoid deadlock in enetc_tx_onestep_tstamp() This lockdep splat says it better than I could: ================================ WARNING: inconsistent lock state 6.2.0-rc2-07010-ga9b9500ffaac-dirty #967 Not tainted -------------------------------- inconsistent {IN-SOFTIRQ-W} -> {SOFTIRQ-ON-W} usage. kworker/1:3/179 [HC0[0]:SC0[0]:HE1:SE1] takes: ffff3ec4036ce098 (_xmit_ETHER#2){+.?.}-{3:3}, at: netif_freeze_queues+0x5c/0xc0 {IN-SOFTIRQ-W} state was registered at: _raw_spin_lock+0x5c/0xc0 sch_direct_xmit+0x148/0x37c __dev_queue_xmit+0x528/0x111c ip6_finish_output2+0x5ec/0xb7c ip6_finish_output+0x240/0x3f0 ip6_output+0x78/0x360 ndisc_send_skb+0x33c/0x85c ndisc_send_rs+0x54/0x12c addrconf_rs_timer+0x154/0x260 call_timer_fn+0xb8/0x3a0 __run_timers.part.0+0x214/0x26c run_timer_softirq+0x3c/0x74 __do_softirq+0x14c/0x5d8 ____do_softirq+0x10/0x20 call_on_irq_stack+0x2c/0x5c do_softirq_own_stack+0x1c/0x30 __irq_exit_rcu+0x168/0x1a0 irq_exit_rcu+0x10/0x40 el1_interrupt+0x38/0x64 irq event stamp: 7825 hardirqs last enabled at (7825): [<ffffdf1f7200cae4>] exit_to_kernel_mode+0x34/0x130 hardirqs last disabled at (7823): [<ffffdf1f708105f0>] __do_softirq+0x550/0x5d8 softirqs last enabled at (7824): [<ffffdf1f7081050c>] __do_softirq+0x46c/0x5d8 softirqs last disabled at (7811): [<ffffdf1f708166e0>] ____do_softirq+0x10/0x20 other info that might help us debug this: Possible unsafe locking scenario: CPU0 ---- lock(_xmit_ETHER#2); <Interrupt> lock(_xmit_ETHER#2); *** DEADLOCK *** 3 locks held by kworker/1:3/179: #0: ffff3ec400004748 ((wq_completion)events){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x1f4/0x6c0 #1: ffff80000a0bbdc8 ((work_completion)(&priv->tx_onestep_tstamp)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x1f4/0x6c0 #2: ffff3ec4036cd438 (&dev->tx_global_lock){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: netif_tx_lock+0x1c/0x34 Workqueue: events enetc_tx_onestep_tstamp Call trace: print_usage_bug.part.0+0x208/0x22c mark_lock+0x7f0/0x8b0 __lock_acquire+0x7c4/0x1ce0 lock_acquire.part.0+0xe0/0x220 lock_acquire+0x68/0x84 _raw_spin_lock+0x5c/0xc0 netif_freeze_queues+0x5c/0xc0 netif_tx_lock+0x24/0x34 enetc_tx_onestep_tstamp+0x20/0x100 process_one_work+0x28c/0x6c0 worker_thread+0x74/0x450 kthread+0x118/0x11c but I'll say it anyway: the enetc_tx_onestep_tstamp() work item runs in process context, therefore with softirqs enabled (i.o.w., it can be interrupted by a softirq). If we hold the netif_tx_lock() when there is an interrupt, and the NET_TX softirq then gets scheduled, this will take the netif_tx_lock() a second time and deadlock the kernel. To solve this, use netif_tx_lock_bh(), which blocks softirqs from running.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2025-03-28	—	0.02%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2025-03-28

—

0.02%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
5.5	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:N) Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	3.6	[email protected]
5.5	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:N) Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	3.6	134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

5.5

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N): Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

3.6

[email protected]

5.5

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N): Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

3.6

134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53022

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	unimportant	CVE-2023-53022 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-53022
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53022
`suse`	medium	CVE-2023-53022 severity moderate: SUSE including 26 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 192 product×package rows across 34 product lines (SLES-LTSS-TERADATA 15 SP2, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS, … (34 product lines)): Known Not Affected 192.	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-53022/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2023-53022 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1551 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1145, ignored 150, released 116, not-affected 97, needed 42, needs-triage 1.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-53022

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53022

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.13, < 5.15.91	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.16, < 6.1.9	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.2	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc1::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.2	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc2::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.2	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc3::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.2	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.2:rc4::::::

References for CVE-2023-53022

URL	Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c463721a73bdb57a913e0d3124677a3758886fc	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8232e5a84d25a84a5cbda0f241a00793fb6eb608	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e893dced1a18e77b1262f5c10169413f0ece0da7	Patch

URL

CVE-2023-53022 | net: enetc: avoid deadlock in enetc_tx_onestep_tstamp()

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-53022

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-53022

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-53022

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-53022

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-53022

References for CVE-2023-53022